My first engagement shoot

[andrewdoeshair]

Sorry this is so long, I just wanted to share some stuff I learned this week that is all "no brainer" to most of you.

I've never tried to shoot anything like this, and I've never really cared to, but my sister's boyfriend proposed and when she asked me to get some engagement photos I was up for the challenge. I learned a lot (because of mistakes I made) but we'll see if I get a chance to (or want to) do another shoot like this.

First mistake was not accounting for the extra DOF required to get BOTH people in focus. I'm used to shooting one person at a time in a studio with an 85mm at F5.6 or so, so trying to focus on two people with a 70-200mm at F2.8 or F4 meant a lot of bad shots that I didn't catch until editing. He was behind her a lot and his face was soft (usually just barely) a lot. Lesson learned.

My second mistake was not telling him to take this seriously, and not trying to get him to feel more comfortable. He didn't want to be in front of a camera, he was awkward and uncomfortable most of the time and I was busy making sure her hair was falling right so I didn't realize that in 3 out of 5 shots he was either looking at the camera like a deer in headlights or he was being silly (not in a cute way). I did manage to get enough shots of him forgetting that I was there, though. It worked out.

Mistake three was bringing too much gear. I had two 5Diii bodies, a Canon 70-200mm F2.8L, 24-70mm F2.8L, 100mm F2.8P macro (for shots of the ring), and a Sigma 50mm F1.4 Art... The 70-200 and the 100mm were on loan from a friend, I was seeing if I want to buy either (I don't. I recently got a 135mm F2 that does what I'd need to do with either of those). I didn't take the 24-70 or the 100 out of my bag, and by the end of the shoot I had put everything away except one body and the 50mm. I realized I could have done the whole shoot with that setup, but when I was getting ready I didn't know what to expect. I will say that this outing certainly rebuilt my trust in that Sigma lens. I've had a love/hate relationship with it for a while now and after this shoot I've been back in the honeymoon phase with it.

Anyways, here's a few. I'm sure there's a ton of room for improvement (like how I've been told that I tend to edit everything a little to dark). Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks for reading!

 

[Granddad]

You need to talk your sister into modeling for you. Him? Yeah, he does sort of spoil the shots. He might be a terrific chap but that doesn't come through. I think it's fairly common with guys, they need a lot more work. I'm afraid I have no tips on the subject 'cos you already did better than I probably would have in the circumstances.

 

[BrentC]

Your sister is beautiful, would love to see a shot of her eyes looking at the camera. I agree with Grandad that she would be a great model for you.

 

[Destin]

Your self assessment of the shots is accurate so I've nothing to add.

But I totally agree that you should get your sister to model for you. She has a look that would make for some absolutely incredible photos.

 

[Flash Harry]

Yeah, he's punching well above his weight, as for the shots I like them though photographing men/teens/boys most do appear nervous in front of the lens and even confrontational, I hated doing teenage boys they're hard work unless they wanted to be shot and that probably stretches into early manhood.